All Lexcel accredited firms ‘should’ be Cyber Essentials certified according to the updated regulations. Certify with Lawyer Checker and enjoy a 48-hour turn around.
Following the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that came into force in June 2018, the importance of ensuring your firm is protected against persistent and sophisticated cyber criminality has never been more important.
In addition to the irreparable reputational and financial damage a data breach can inflict on a firm, the updated ‘Lexcel England and Wales Version 6.1 Standard for Legal Practices’ insists that data regulations and cyber security should now become a clear priority for all Lexcel Law Firms.
According to a recent survey by DLA Piper, the UK has amassed a total of 10,600 notified breaches since May 24th of last year. Currently, this means that each month UK companies are failing to defend themselves from cyber attacks at a rate of 1,000 breaches per month, or 42 per day.
Additionally, UK GDPR regulators are being notified of 16.3 data breaches per 100,000 people which places the UK as the 10th most vulnerable EU nation. Therefore, it is crucial that law firms are able to competently ensure they protect the valuable and sensitive data they hold.
Furthermore, section 3.2 of Lexcel Version 6.1 states that ‘all practices should have an information management and security policy and should be accredited against Cyber Essentials.’ The modal verb ‘should’ emphasising the importance that the Law Society and their legal practice quality mark place on this specific cyber certification.
Cyber Essentials is the perfect cyber accreditation for law firms that are at the beginning of their cyber certification journey and will ensure that your firm has considered the connected devices used and firewall defences implemented to protect against malicious or harmful viruses. It will also help your firm begin to embed the importance of cyber security within the law firm.
This certification does not promote your firm to be a pioneer in cyber security, it is the minimum standard that fellow law firms and suppliers expect to see. Continuing to ignore a law firm’s security obligations could result in businesses overlooking your services for other firms that can demonstrate their commitment to protecting themselves, their clients, other firms and third party suppliers.
Lawyer Checker are experts in helping to protect the legal profession. We understand your unique needs and the valuable types of data your firm will hold. We are therefore perfectly placed to help you become Cyber Essentials certified. When the accreditation costs are only £350+ VAT, this accreditation should be a priority for any law firm without a recognised cyber certification.
When Lawyer Checker’s Cyber Essentials services are used, law firms will enjoy the speed of being certified within 48 hours of completing a successful questionnaire. Additionally, they will be on the correct path to Lexcel version 6.1 compliance.
Protect your law firm from exposure to cyber threats, use Lawyer Checker, experts in the legal sector, to help you defend your organisation and highlight to other firms and legal suppliers that you are proactively protecting yourself and others from online threats.
